Question of the Week: 1 - 8/7/2000Who are you going to vote for and why?Which political platform or candidate are you leaning towards? Do you think that a level of political involvement is important to pagans? Are you registered to vote, will you vote and who -if you don't mind telling the world- are you planning to vote for (or against)?

I definitely beleive Pagans should be involved with the Political process, or be left totally powerless to effect change. I am a registered voter, have worked on several campaigns, and have even lobbied our state house to prevent a law about Samhain to go through.

I am not voting for George Bush, even though I like a lot of what he says. Unfourtantely, He is to much a cross bearing man for my tastes. And I am note voting for Gore, because he is really dangerous to my way of life. He is even more Fundemental then Bush, and would turn his presidency into a personal misistry to save the nation's soul for christ.

So that leaves Ralph Nader and the Green Party, and I am hoping to Get his 5% vote. Without a long term third party, we will be in the equivelant of a one party system with two names.

We went to the Republican Rally this Sunday in Springfield and my comments can be seen at http;//messages.to/dailygoddess

although i'm not yet of the legal voting age, i pay attention to politics, mainly concerning religion ;). i'm truly frightened of bush being elected to the presidency. separation of church and state is vital, and if he breaks this separation, well... our minority religion is going to be even further discriminated against. frankly, i don't understand why *anyone* would allow prayer in public schools. common sense tells us that there are people of other faiths or no faith at all that would *not* appreciate jesus time. they may say that the prayers are non-denominational, but i think it's quite obvious they wouldn't accept a circle being cast, for instance. but i stray from the issue :) gore may not be the best democratic candidate, but i would much rather see him elected than bush. i'd rather lose my money than my civil rights, as i read at one website :) i'm registering as soon as i turn 18 and only wish i could vote in this election which could very well be a turning point in history. the number of people my age planning *not* to register is disgusting. if you don't vote, you lose the right to complain. it's vital that *all* pagans vote- we're small in numbers as it is (compared to other faiths), and it's important that we're recognized and allowed to have our opinons heard and respected. your one vote may very well make a difference.

As I Have Grown Into Adulthood, I Find Myself Aligning More And...

Aug 8th. at 4:17:35 pm UTC

Sprite (Portland, Oregon US)

Age: 25

As I have grown into adulthood, I find myself aligning more and more with the libertartian party. As a young pagan, the libertarian party ideals ring truer with me than ever. Their platform of personal responsibility and absolute freedom, so long as you do not initiate any form of force against another, complements the wiccan path. I do think pagans should be politically active, but not nearly so much as they should be socially active and a positive presence in their communities. We, and now I mean society as a whole, have a disturbing tendency to legislate everything that strikes us wrong, inconvenient, harmful, uncomfortable...you get the gist. A more meaningful method of effecting change is to work for social change. That way, change is voluntary, people's eyes and hearts are honestly open, and change is sincere instead of forced.

One of the hallmarks of nearly all Pagan paths today is a reverence for and affirmation of the concept of personal responsibility. This is, to me, the most important issue in the election, and the biggest crisis facing us as a society today.

I plan on wearing black on election day, to mourn another year passing where the adults of this country decide to hand over their free will to a candidate who thinks he knows what's best for the people better than they do. I would prefer to vote for a candidate who pledged a smaller federal government, one who actually had the balls to cut federal programs, slash taxes, and get back to doing what a national government should do: regulating interstate commerce and protecting the borders. Anything else, the states can do better on their own.

I'd rather have 50 states trying 50 different solutions to the social problems of the day, some hitting, some missing, than have one blanket attempt at a solution that is so handicapped by compromise that it's basically worthless. The ability to attempt new solutions and adapt quickly is what has spurred our evolution as a species, yet we constantly try for a one-size-fits-all solution in our politics. And that can only result in frustration and failure.

But what about social programs and federal funding? Since it all gets administered by the states anyway, let the states pick the monies they need and let the states implement the taxes to collect it. Abolish the federal income tax. What we need to fund a smaller government can come from other sources. Use the extra money people save from their paychecks to fund social programs that the people themselves have not only the opportunity but the OBLIGATION to run themselves. It's time to put personal responsibility back into the vocabulary, and get the federal government out of the problem-solving business. After all, can any one here honestly say they've ever seen a problem that the federal government has actually solved?

If you want to help the poor, help the poor. If you want to save owls, then save them. Don't count on the federal government to do that, because that's not what it's there for--and in reality, all you're doing is pawning the problem off on them so you have someone else to blame if it doesn't work. People are so handicapped by dependence on the feds that they are unable to mobilize and do anything on their own when it matters. American citizens are in danger of becoming sheep. Let's hope lemmings aren't next.

Lest anyone think I'm totally heartless, I'm not. I would gladly give plenty of my time and money to worthwhile charitable causes; I'd prefer, however, to do that on my own, and not spend half of it in bureaucratic costs. And I'm damn tired of politicians telling me they know better than I do what's best for me.

As Wendell Wilkie once said, "Any man who is not something of a socialist before he is forty has no heart. Any man who is still a socialist after he is forty has no head." Quite frankly, both major candidates--and any politician who claims to know what's best for me--fit the definition here.

And as for me...I'm voting Libertarian.

While Some May Consider The Libertarian Party As A Club Of Gun...

Aug 8th. at 5:03:29 pm UTC

maijetika (Stoughton, Wisconsin US)

Age: 16

While some may consider the Libertarian Party as a club of gun toting rebels, it is a very intellectual party. I intend to promote the party, and their presidential candidate Harry Browne, this year. They advocate complete political, religous, and economic freedom. No democrats attempting to make the world fair by descriminating against the majority. No republicans trying to turn this nation "back into a nation under God." Utter freedom to act as long as it will not hurt others.

Which Political Platform Or Candidate Are You Leaning Towards? Conservative >do You...

I am a registered voter, a Democrat, and I will likely vote for the Gore/Leiberman team in the coming election, although I will hold my nose while doing it. In my heart, I would rather vote for Ralph Nader, whose politics are much closer to mine; but I fear a vote for him would be a gift to Bush and the Republicans as it would take much-needed votes away from the Democrats.

I have been vitally intersted in politics all my life. In my youth, I was a committed animal rights and environmental activist. I have also worked for various candidates' campaigns. I believe political involvement is vital to Pagan interests for a number of reasons. It is only through full participation in the political process that we can make our vision of the world come closer to reality: a vision of environmental harmony, gender equality and human rights.

I am going to vote for Ralph Nader Since he is the only one that I can be sure doesn't have any vested interests. Besides I think that we need to shake up the system more than we have. The most pointed way of doing that is to make a third party cantidate that really does have a plan and isn't just parroting the large corporations that fund him. We need to make him get a large enough percentage of the votes that the others will be forced to wake up and listen to us. Listen that we are not pleased with the way that things are going and that we will change them!

I am registered Green Party and I am so happy that this time it looks like Nader just might get somewhere (realistically, not the white house but he will get noticed)

I think that it would be a rare thing for a truly religious president to ever take office in this day and date. The Republicans will slobber all over themselves trying to please the religious right (but really, do they need to? The religious right is never going to vote for a democrat). The democrats pay lip service to other religions than Christianity, (note the choice of VP), however the idea that they would, in this decade, even acknowlege support for "alternative" religions in any but the most general terms, is likely out of the question. Pagans and Wiccans should not expect at this time to be represented properly by the government. We are still too scary. What would be more productive is voting for a president who is supportive of equal rights, anti descrimination, and is not too desperately right wing. Vote for someone who, without realizing it, abides by our tennants - protecting the environment, cautious about going and bombing other countries, looks to feed those who can't feed themselves and lights a fire under those who should be feeding themselves and aren't. As our numbers grow (and statistics indicate that they are), we will continue to fight and win the battle that women, minorities, homosexuals, and all other non-christian-straight-white-males have fought. Blessed be.

I Am Strongly Leaning Towards Voting For Gore, And Especially Now That...

I am strongly leaning towards voting for Gore, and especially now that he and Bush have announced their running mates. Bush has literally said that he is anti abortion under any circumstances, and will actively try to get the Supreme Court to overturn Roe vs. Wade. I see this as an attack on women's rights to decide their own body issues. I have been told (though I did not hear this personally) that Bush also said that he doesn't believe that Wicca is a "real" religion. Also, the so called "improvements" that he made in the areas of child welfare and education in Texas look good in the commercials, until you realize that Texas was either 49th or 50th in the nation as far as child health programs and education is concerned! It's easy to get the award for most improved when you were the worst to start with!

I think that polictical involvement is paramount! I am registered to vote, and have been since I was 18 yrs old, and have always voted in every election I was able to vote in. I want to know, if you don't exercise your right to vote, what other rights are you willing to give up?

This year we have the first Jewish vice presidential candidate, and all the Jewish people are celebrating (as well they should!). What year will it be when we see a Pagan or Wiccan candidate? I believe that the seeds we sow now, are what we will harvest in generations to come.

I'm 20, and this is the first time i get to vote for president. I really don't know who to vote for. I went to a bunch of different homepages for parties to see what they're like. I went to the Bush page, and looked at what he said he did, and what he said he's going to do, and all the places i could click so i could donate money to a worthy cause. And then I went to go see Gore's page, and it was pretty much the same thing. I looked at the libertarians, the greens, the socialists, and a few others. They didn't have any pleas for money on thier pages, and that's an immediate plus. I'm in college and i have no money to spend on that sort of thing.

I like the libertarians. I don't think they'll ever win, but I like them. I think I'm going to vote for gore because bush scares me. People keep saying that he won't matter because the courts will overturn his plans, but I keep wondering if they'll do that forever, especially when he starts appointing the judges. It scares me so much to think that the Supreme Court could be all pro-life, approve prayer in schools, and i don't know what else. When you start taking the little freedoms away, then what's next? I don't particularly like the Democrats. They, like the republicans, have been around too long uncontested and have gotten fat and comfortable where they are. Maybe i will vote third party then just to shake things up, but i doubt it. It's just all so confusing. Democrats act like Republicans and Republicans act like Democrats for 6 months at a time just to get votes. I wonder who would vote for who if both parties stayed true to what they were supposed to be no matter what? Ah, idle questions.

yes, i am registered, and will even go the extra step to request the absentee ballot. yes, i will vote, just to say i did. Who will i vote for? I don't think i'll know for sure until i step into the booth and actually do it.

The Supreme Court Is Getting Older.....and Older.....the Next President Will...

The Supreme Court is getting older.....and older.....the next president will have the choice of new positions. It is EXTREMELY important that an open view to diverse thinking is upheld. I'm sure that a Republican president, as well as a Republican congress will not support those views, nomatter what was said at their convention.

I feel this is the single most important element in this election by FAR. Not only women's rights, but the rights of everyone will be threatened by a Republican president.

Not to mention the fact that Geo W. is an intellectual vacuum. He seems not to have any inner-dialogue at all. (Speaks from the "no lips" so to speak).

I support Al Gore for President. I may have supported Ralph Nader if so much wasn't at stake here. Now, I am disturbed at RN for taking votes away from Al Gore...Cutting your nose off to spite your face never solves the problem.

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